The postal history of Puerto Rico began around 1518, at least for official mail, when Spain adopted general postal regulations; although the first documentation of Spanish postal regulations specific to the Caribbean was 1794. [1] The first postage stamps were issued 168 years ago for Puerto Rico and Cuba in 1856. Postage stamps just for Puerto Rico followed, and later postal cards and telegraph stamps were issued. United States postal administration began in 1899 and the last stamps specifically for Puerto Rico were issued in 1900. They were superseded by U.S. stamps, which are still used today on the island as it remains a territory serviced by the United States Postal Service (USPS).
Puerto Rican stamps have, as one might safely assume, featured matters related to Puerto Rico such as its places, events, works, and personalities.
The first stamps used in Puerto Rico were issues for the Spanish West Indies, for use in both Cuba and Puerto Rico, but these were not generally used in Puerto Rico until 1856. [2] [3] The first stamps inscribed "Puerto Rico" were issued in 1873. [2] [4] Postal cards for Puerto Rico were printed in Spain and sent to their colonies in 1878. [5]
Spanish commemorative postage stamp was issued on the occasion of the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus' arrival in Puerto Rico in 1493, issued in 1893 when the island was still under Spanish rule. It is the only colonial-era Puerto Rican stamp that does not bear the face of the King of Spain.
With the war of Spanish–American War, the United States invaded Puerto Rico and wrested power from the Spanish. For the first time, stamped envelopes became available to the residents of Puerto Rico. [6]
From 1871 to 1881 a number of different telegraph stamps were issued for Puerto Rico. From 1882 postage stamps were used for telegraph fees which were usually cancelled with a punched hole. From 1886 to 1889 a number of stamps were issued for Puerto Rican municipalities marked TELEGRAFOS as part of the extension of the telegraph network to more towns. It is unclear if these were revenue stamps for a tax on telegrams or to pay the fee for sending a telegraphic message but at least twenty different areas are known to have issued the stamps. [7]
An independent postal service under U.S. authority was established March 15, 1899. But with the Foraker Act of 1900, the postal service of Puerto Rico ceased to be a separate adjunct of the U.S. and was assimilated into the United States postal system. [6] Stamps were originally overprinted with the spelling Anglicized to "PORTO RICO". Later, postage dues, and in 1900 regular issues, were overprinted with "PUERTO RICO". Likewise, postal cards and stamped envelopes were also initially overprinted "PORTO RICO" and later "PUERTO RICO". U.S. stamps are now used on the island.
Postal cards are postal stationery with an imprinted stamp or indicium signifying the prepayment of postage. They are sold by postal authorities. On January 26, 1869, Dr. Emanuel Herrmann of Austria described the advantages of a Correspondenz Karte. By October 1, 1869 the world's first postal card was produced by Austria-Hungary. They caught on quickly. By the end of 1870, Great Britain, Finland, Switzerland and Württemberg joined the countries issuing postal cards. In the United States, they were first produced in 1873. Some of the forms taken by postal cards include the regular single card which may be commemorative or definitive, attached message-reply cards, airmail postal cards, and official postal cards used for official government business with a "penalty for private use".
An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or ticket after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purposes such as accounting but they are also employed in public mail. Well-recognized varieties include commemorative overprints which are produced for their public appeal and command significant interest in the field of philately.
A piece of postal stationery is a stationery item, such as a stamped envelope, letter sheet, postal card, lettercard, aerogram or wrapper, with an imprinted stamp or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage or related service has been prepaid. It does not, however, include any postcard without a pre-printed stamp, and it is different from freepost for preprinted cards issued by businesses. In general, postal stationery is handled similarly to postage stamps; sold from post offices either at the face value of the printed postage or, more likely, with a surcharge to cover the additional cost of the stationery. It can take the form of an official mail issue produced only for the use of government departments.
A stamped envelope or postal stationery envelope (PSE) is an envelope with a printed or embossed indicium indicating the prepayment of postage. It is a form of postal stationery.
Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
The postage stamps of Ireland are issued by the postal operator of the independent Irish state. Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland when the world's first postage stamps were issued in 1840. These stamps, and all subsequent British issues, were used in Ireland until the new Irish Government assumed power in 1922. Beginning on 17 February 1922, existing British stamps were overprinted with Irish text to provide some definitives until separate Irish issues became available. Following the overprints, a regular series of definitive stamps was produced by the new Department of Posts and Telegraphs, using domestic designs. These definitives were issued on 6 December 1922; the first was a 2d stamp, depicting a map of Ireland. Since then new images, and additional values as needed, have produced nine definitive series of different designs.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Cuba.
Linn's World Stamp Almanac defines a provisional stamp as "a postage stamp issued for temporary use to meet postal demands until new or regular stocks of stamps can be obtained."
The postal history of Malta began in the early modern period, when pre-adhesive mail was delivered to foreign destinations by privately owned ships for a fee. The earliest known letter from Malta, sent during the rule of the Order of St John, is dated 1532. The first formal postal service on the islands was established by the Order in 1708, with the post office being located at the Casa del Commun Tesoro in Valletta. The first postal markings on mail appeared later on in the 18th century.
The postage stamps and postal history of Guam is an overview of the postage stamps and postal history of the United States territory of Guam. Its postal service is linked to those of the Philippines during the Spanish Empire and, since 1898, to the United States of America. A peculiarity is that, for a short period in the 1930s, Guam had a local post service.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Cyprus. The country's postal history is intricately linked to the island's political past.
The Stamp Specialist is the title of a series of books on philatelic research written and edited for the advanced collector of postage stamps.
A specimen stamp is a postage stamp or postal stationery indicium sent to postmasters and postal administrations so that they are able to identify valid stamps and to avoid forgeries. The usual method of invalidating the stamps is either overprinting in ink or perforating the word Specimen across the stamp and where English is not the common language, the words Muestra (Spanish), Monster (Dutch), Muster (German) or Образец have been used instead.
In philately, an imprinted stamp is a stamp printed onto a piece of postal stationery such as a stamped envelope, postal card, letter sheet, letter card, aerogram or wrapper. The printing may be flat upon the surface of the paper, or embossed with a raised relief. An imprinted stamp is also known as unadhesive stamp or indicium.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Gibraltar.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and early postal history of Sudan. Sudan was governed by the United Kingdom and Egypt from 1898. Independence was proclaimed on 1 January, 1956, and independent Sudan became a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) on 27 July 1956.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Philippines.
The United Postal Stationery Society (UPSS) was formed July 1, 1945 from the merger of the Postal Card Society of America, in existence since 1891, and the International Postal Stationery Society, founded 1939. Current membership stands at about 1,000. The organization's journal since 1949 is called Postal Stationery. Articles appear about new issues of U.S. and international postal stationery, plus articles on rare and unusual stationery.
Revenue stamps of the United Kingdom refer to the various revenue or fiscal stamps, whether adhesive, directly embossed or otherwise, which were issued by and used in the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, from the late 17th century to the present day.
Puerto Rico topics have been featured on the stamps of Spain and of the United States. Spanish stamps are found at Postage stamps and postal history of Puerto Rico.